TECH5 Group enters into a strategic partnership and invests in uqudo

By Leandra Monteiro

TECH5, an innovator in the field of biometrics and digital identity management, has made a strategic investment into uqudo, a full stack Digital Identity provider for the Middle East and Africa. uqudo will use the proceeds, received as part of an early investment round, to support the launch and growth of unique new products tailored towards the region in collaboration with TECH5.

uqudo is an existing partner and customer of the investing company, integrating TECH5’s technologies for facial authentication and liveness SDKs as part of the overall uqudo offering. “From a strategic point of view for TECH5, uqudo is a great partner for the integration of both companies’ offerings to create unparalleled digital KYC and National Identity programs in the Middle East, Africa, and other regions,” said Rob Haslam, TECH5’s Strategic Advisor. “In addition, we appreciate access to uqudo’s expertise as a full-service provider in the space of digital onboarding and authentication.”

uqudo offers a digital identity platform for customer onboarding and verification, integrated with biometric modalities of TECH5 for verification, biometric liveness detection, NFC-based government-issued IDs and passports reading and verification, cognitive document analysis and AI-based document scanning. This enables users to experience a fast, frictionless, and secure onboarding process while ensuring compliance with KYC (Know Your Customer), AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and CDD (Customer Due Diligence) regulations. “We are delighted to have TECH5 as an investor and a partner and believe that our collaboration and joint technology offering will bring wide expertise and innovative tools for biometric onboarding, verification, and digital identity management to the market,” said Mohamed Fagiri, Founder and CEO at uqudo.

With uqudo expanding its coverage and capabilities across the Middle East and Africa, and TECH5’s experience in biometrics and identity management in the region, this collaboration will allow cross-validation of identities without time-consuming manual verifications. uqudo’s full-fledged AI document scanning, verification and customer screening, powered with TECH5’s inclusive biometrics technologies creates a market-leading proposition. The combined offering will also help prevent identity theft and reduce customer acquisition and paper-based costs.

With the joint offering, in addition to the Middle East and Africa, TECH5 and uqudo are planning to target the wider EMEA geography in 2023, with a focus on Fintech, Blockchain, Banking, Insurance, Travel, and Tourism industries as well as public sector organizations.